Vladimir Jurowski has been appointed principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra beginning in the 2007-08 season, the orchestra announced today.

The 34-year-old Russian is currently principal guest conductor of the LPO and will take over from Kurt Masur, who turns 80 next year. Jurowski is also music director at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, where the LPO is the resident orchestra, and principal guest conductor of the Russian National Orchestra.

LPO chief executive and artistic director Timothy Walker said in a statement, "In Vladimir we have found an exceptional musician whose relationship with the orchestra has proved irrepressible. His involvement with the ensemble pervades all aspects of its work from eclectic programs on the South Bank to performances at Glyndebourne and the development of our education programs and in-house recording label."

Jurowski added, "I am thrilled and deeply honored to be offered the position...following in the footsteps of such illustrious names as Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur...I have formed a very close bond with the players. Their passion and enthusiasm for music is really infectious and is something I immediately connected with when I first worked with the ensemble five years ago.

Jurowski was born in Moscow and studied there and in Germany, where he moved with his family in 1990. He made his international debut at the Wexford Festival in 1995 and has since become a frequent guest conductor of opera companies and orchestras in Europe and North America. In 2004 Jurowski won BBC Music Magazine's poll of the world's top young conductors.

The LPO also announced its 2006-07 season, which will mark its 75th anniversary. It will continue to perform in various venues around London, including the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Barbican Center, and the London Coliseum, while the Royal Festival Hall, its permanent home, undergoes reconstruction.